|
|
- The Advocate eEdition
- |
- Wedding Forms
- |
- Newsletters
- |
- Text Alerts
- |
- Mobile
- |
- RSS
- |
Browsing entries categorized as Healthcare
-
Landrieu to support Senate health care bill debate
Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana announced Saturday morning that she would vote “yes” on a crucial vote involving the U.S. Senate’s health care bill. Democrats expect to win expected vote on Saturday night. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare, U.S. Congress
Share this: -
$100 million in health care bill for Louisiana
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate health care bill released Wednesday contains at least $100 million to plug an upcoming financial loss in Louisiana Medicaid health insurance for the poor.
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu – whose vote is viewed as crucial to passage of the legislation —pushed for the money, which was provided in the bill offered by its author, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.Though the provision in the bill was estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $100 million, state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said the state needs about $500 million.“I’m glad the language is in the bill as it is at least a recognition of our problem,” Levine said. “But we have more work to do. I appreciate Sen. Landrieu’s help and we are continuing to work with her.”Reid and Landrieu representatives were quick to say Thursday that the money was not tied to trying to gain Landrieu’s vote on the bill.Landrieu is one of four Democrats who has said she would not support a bill that contains a government-run insurance program. Reid needs all 60 Democratic senators to vote for the legislation in order for it to pass.With a big vote looming this weekend on whether the bill will be offered up for debate, Landrieu said she is “neutral” on a measure. Earlier in the week she said she was leaning “no” in her support.Landrieu, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, has said she wants safeguards in the measure to protect small businesses.She said she is also concerned about the $849 billion cost of the bill. The $100 million doesn’t figure into the equation, said Landrieu spokesman Rob Sawicki.“If this bill doesn’t contain these things, this would not be enough to get her to support it,” he said.The money would be a one-time fix for the state, said Jim Manley, Reid’s spokesman. Manley also said that the funding was not offered to sway Landrieu’s vote.ABC News broke the story on the funding Thursday, finding a provision on page 432 of the 2,074-page Senate bill. The section increases Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.” The section describes the states over two pages as states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a major disaster area – Louisiana.The state has been struggling with the Medicaid funding issue, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage or FMAP. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services formula is based on per-capita income over a three-year period.Because Louisiana saw income rise due to the rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, state officials said that the FMAP formula was artificially high. The percentage of federal Medicaid assistance would drop from last October’s 72 percent to 64 percent next year. The state is currently at 81 percent due to an influx of national stimulus dollars.Republican U.S. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of New Orleans recently filed legislation seeking relief from the federal funding formula. The bill is co-sponsored by four House delegation members including Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge.Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
Commission calls for "independent" study on Charity Hospital
Patrick Dennis/The Advocate
Commissioner of Administration Angèle Davis listens as state health agency chief Alan Levine testifies Tuesday before the Commission on Streamlining Government. Levine said he has hired a consultant to help make sure there is a workable business plan for construction of a $1.2 billion academic medical center in New Orleans.
The Commission on Streamlining Government this morning called for a new “independent” study of all the options for providing an academic medical center in New Orleans. The vote followed testimony by historic preservationists who favor building a new hospital inside the shell of the 1930s vintage Charity Hospital instead of construction of a new $1.2 billion complex on another site. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
Access to swine flu vaccine increased
As Louisiana registered a 34th death from the H1N1 virus, health officials announced Wednesday expanded statewide access to the vaccine for those most vulnerable to the dangerous flu strain. State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said the vaccine will now be available to a sixth group of individuals -- adults between ages 24 and 64 with chronic disease conditions such as asthma and diabetes. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
Medicaid shortfall is about $308 million
The state health agency is projecting a $308 million shortfall in Medicaid funding, the government health insurance program for the poor, state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said Monday. Levine goes before the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget Tuesday to outline the problem and how health officials propose to bring the current fiscal year spending back in line. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
DHH wants to cut payments
A state health agency proposal to scale back rates paid Medicaid providers to budget levels of three years ago drew opposition Monday from nursing home and hospital interests. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
Levine criticizes U.S. Senate majority leader
Louisiana’s top health official is criticizing a provision in the U.S. Senate’s health care bill that would give four states, including that of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, full federal funding for increases in the Medicaid rolls. Louisiana would have to pay a 5 percent match for any new federal money for expansion of Medicaid amounting to $614 million over five years, said Alan Levine, secretary of the state Department of Health and Hospitals. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Budget, Healthcare
Share this: -
Swine flu vaccine shuld be available in November
BILL FEIG/The Advocate
State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry presents Friday a status of and preparation for the H1N1 virus to a joint meeting of the state Senate and House health and welfare committees.
Vaccines for the swine flu should be available by November, the state health officer said Friday.Pregnant women and children will be first in line to get immunized for the H1N1 flu, commonly called the swine flu, because they are the most susceptible to it, Dr. Jimmy Guidry told a meeting of the House and Senate health and welfare committees.The swine flu has caused six deaths in Louisiana, while about 39,000 people in the state are estimated to have contracted it, Guidry said.However, the seasonal flu is still more deadly than the swine flu, he said.“Even if you do everything, some people can still die,” Guidry said. “That’s true of every flu season.”Pharmacies are now allowed to give vaccinations for the seasonal flu and H1N1, when it is available, without a prescription, Guidry said. The state health department also plans to make the vaccine available through schools and public health clinics, he said.“Everywhere we can give the vaccine, when it is available, we will be giving it,” he said.Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
DHH Secretary: Charity hospitals needed
BILL FEIG/The Advocate
As Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Undersecretary Charles Castille, left, looks on, DHH Secretary Alan Levine, right, makes the agency presentation Tuesday to the Commission on Streamlining Government.
The state health secretary told the Commission on Streamlining Government Tuesday that some of the state’s charity hospitals would struggle for survival if the U.S. Congress figures out a way to increase the number of people with health insurance. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this: -
Rep Jackson charged by Ethics Board
A Baton Rouge lawmaker is facing state ethics charges related to legal work his law firm did for the state’s insurer of last resort, the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The Louisiana Board of Ethics released charges Monday that claim state Rep. Michael Jackson failed to timely disclose $46,929 in income from Citizens when he filed a personal financial disclosure report reflecting 2006 activities. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
Share this:
